Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
University of Hawaii
USDA Agricultural Research Center

Bilateral
Institutions

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Cooperative
Agreements - "Memoranda of Understanding"

In December 2008, Governor Linda Lingle
and Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place, announced the signing
of a memorandum of understanding that is centered on a plan to bring
an electric-car network to Hawai‘i, thus creating a model for
the adoption of electric cars in the U.S. The move – only the
second of its kind announced in the nation – will help fuel Hawai‘i’s
drive to lead the nation in renewable energy use, create jobs locally,
while also helping to secure our energy future. “Attracting investments
into the state is a major component of our Five-Point Action Plan to
help stimulate the economy,” said Governor Linda Lingle during
a celebratory press conference. “Today’s announcement is
a significant move towards our state gaining independence from foreign
oil." Read more about the MOU, CLICK
HERE.

In May 2004, as part of her mission
to Israel, Governor Linda Lingle signed a memorandum of understanding
between the state of Hawaii and Israel to encourage cooperation concerning
agriculture and aquaculture research and development. This historic
agreement was signed with Israeli Minister of Agriculture Israel Katz
in a ceremony in Beit Dagan. It is a direct bilateral agreement with
Israel to foster cooperation in the areas of agriculture and aguaculture
research and development.

Hawaii Government Missions to Israel

January 2012 - Senator Daniel Inouye
traveled to Israel with Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD). He told high school students in Jerusalem that the US takes
the threat of an Iranian attack on Israel very seriously. "We in
the US are deeply concerned with the activities in Iran. If the Iranians
should ever develop a nuclear device or bomb, that could mean the end
of the world as we know it in the Middle East. It would have an impact
on all countries, not just Israel. As a result, our position is that
if you attack Israel, you are attacking the United States," he
said. To read more about the trip and Senator Inouye's statements, CLICK
HERE.

May 2004 - Linda
Lingle, the Jewish Republican governor of Hawaii, led a agricultural
and trade mission as her first trip to Israel. In Israel, Gov Lingle
met with senior Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon and she also visited the Negev Desert where she discussed
issues in higher education. Though this was only her first trip to the
region, Gov. Lingle made an instant connection. ""We're both
isolated," said Gov. Lingle, "We're isolated by water; they're
isolated by unfriendly neighbors." Learn more about her trip to
the region, CLICK
HERE.

Partners
For Change

The U.S.-Israel relationship is based on the twin
pillars of shared values and mutual interests. Given this commonality of
interests and beliefs, it should not be surprising that support for Israel
is one of the most pronounced and consistent foreign policy values of the
American people.

It is more difficult to devise programs that capitalize
on the two nations' shared values than their security interests;
nevertheless, such programs do exist. In fact, these SHARED VALUE
INITIATIVES cover a broad range of areas, including the environment,
science and technology, education and health.

As analyst David Pollock noted, Israel is an advanced country with a population that surpassed eight million people in 2013 and a robust, dynamic economy that allowed it to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Between 2005 and 2013, Israel has represented a larger market for U.S. exports than Saudi Arabia. Although Israel's citizenry make up just 3 percent of the total region's population, Israel accounts for 25 percent of American exports in the Middle East.

"It has also been one of the top 20 foreign direct investors in the United States since 2009," Pollock confirms. He adds that "$2.25 billion of the $3 billion in annual U.S. aid to Israel comes back via Israeli purchases of U.S. military equipment - and that is just 5 percent of the total bilateral trade each year."

Today's interdependent global economy requires that
trade policy be developed at the national and state level.

Many states have recognized the opportunity for realizing
significant benefits by seeking to increase trade with Israel. Hawaii is one of 33 states that have cooperative
agreements with Israel.

In 2012, Hawaii exported over $904,861.00 worth
of manufacturing goods to Israel. Since 1996, Hawaii exports to
Israel have totaled more than $5,616,180.00 and Israel now ranks as Hawaii’s
51st leading trade partner.

Israel is certainly a place where potential business
and trade partners can be found. It can also be a source, however, for
innovative programs and ideas for addressing problems facing the citizens
of Hawaii.

Israel has developed a number of pioneering education programs. For example, AICE introduced an innovative Israeli
peer tutoring program to North Carolina that educators adapted for use
in the United States. Now known as Reading Together, the program is
used in 28 states. The program is designed to help students achieve
reading fluency and is mostly used for children in second grade. The
hope is that with its implementation, increasing numbers of students
will perform at grade level or above.

A range of other exciting approaches to social problems
like unemployment, environmental protection and drug abuse have been
successfully implemented in Israel and could be imported for the benefit
of Americans.

The potential for greater cooperation with Israel for
the benefit of Hawaii is limited only by the imagination.

Hawaii Firms
Profit From Business With Israel

As the only country with free trade agreements with both the United
States and the European community, Israel can act as a bridge for international
trade between the U.S. and Europe. Moreover, because of its deep pool
of talent, particularly in high-technology areas, Israel provides excellent
investment opportunities. Some of the nations largest companies,
such as IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Intel and McDonalds have found
that it is indeed profitable to do business in Israel.

One good way to break into the Israeli market is through
a joint venture with an Israeli company. Funding for such projects is
available from the Binational
Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD). BIRD funds projects in 36 states and the District of
Columbia and hundreds of companies including AOL, GE, BP Solar, Texas
Instruments and Johnson & Johnson have benefitted from BIRD grants.

The United States and Israel established BIRD in 1977
to fund joint U.S.-Israeli teams in the development and subsequent commercialization
of innovative, nondefense technological products from which both the
Israeli and American company can expect to derive benefits commensurate
with the investments and risks. Most grant recipients are small businesses
involved with software, instrumentation, communications, medical devices
and semiconductors.

Since its inception, BIRD has funded more than 800
joint high-tech R&D projects through conditional grants totaling
more than $210 million. Products developed from these ventures have
generated more than $8 billion in direct and indirect revenues for both
countries and has helped to create an estimated 20,000 American jobs.
Dr. Eli Opper, the former Israeli chair of BIRD, has
said that BIRD is a strong pillar of US-Israel industrial
cooperation and that the extreme success of BIRD has
led Israel to adopt similar models of R&D with other countries.

At present, no Hawaii companies have taken advantage
of the opportunities and reduced risks offered by grants through BIRD.

Scientific
Innovations

Hawaii researchers are making scientific breakthroughs
and developing cutting-edge technologies in joint projects with Israeli
scientists thanks to support from the Binational
Science Foundation (BSF). BSF was established in 1972 to promote scientific relations
and cooperation between scientists from the United States and Israel.
The fund supports collaborative research projects in a wide area of
basic and applied scientific field for peaceful and non-profit purposes.
Since its inception, BSF has awarded some $480 million
through more than 4,000 grants in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

BSF-sponsored studies are highly successful
in achieving their two main goals: strengthening the US-Israel partnership
through science and promoting world-class scientific research for the
benefit of the two countries and all mankind. The BSF grants help extend research resources to achieve milestones that might
not otherwise be attainable; introduce novel approaches and techniques
to lead American researchers in new directions; confirm, clarify and
intensify research projects; and provide unmatched access to Israeli
equipment, facilities and research results that help speed American
scientific advances. BSF has documented no less than
75 new discoveries made possible by its research grants and counts 37
Nobel Prize and 19 Lasker Medical Award laureates among its joint partners.

Hawaii institutions have shared with their counterparts
in Israel nearly $730,000 in BSF grants awarded since
1996 alone.

Agriculture
Benefits

In 1978 the United States and Israel jointly created the Binational
Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD)
to help fund programs between US and Israeli scientists for mutually
beneficial, mission-oriented, strategic and applied research into agricultural
problems. Since its inception, BARD has funded more
than 1,000 projects in 45 states and the District of Columbia with a
total investment of more than $250 million. In 2000, an independent
and external economic review of 10 BARD projects conservatively
projected more than $700 million in revenue by the end of 2010, a number
which far outweighs the total investment in all BARD projects over its 33 year existence and helps to continually strengthen
the foundation.

Most BARD projects focus on either increasing agricultural
productivity, plant and animal health or food quality and safety and
have been influential in creating new technologies in drip irrigation,
pesticides, fish farming, livestock, poultry, disease control and farm
equipment. BARD funds projects in 45 states and the
District of Columbia and at present is beginning to administer collaborative
efforts between Australia, Canada and Israel as well. It is difficult
to break down the impact on a state-by-state basis, but overall, BARD-sponsored
research has generated sales of more than $500 million, tax revenues
of more than $100 million and created more than 5,000 American jobs.
Hawaii institutions have shared grants worth more than $1.4 million
since 1979.

Other Cooperative
Programs

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Sister Cities

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